I am someone who is fully aware that we can use the Internet to find the price of items. I use many apps to help me keep on top of comic-book trends and prices, after all. That said, I always write about having a fondness for big paperback price guides. My soft spot for the Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide has often been discussed on the blog so considering I have been getting into hockey cards, why not try out a price guide for those? Enter, the, "2024 Beckett Hockey Card Price Guide."
I didn't have a lot of hockey cards so I had minimal need for the price guide, but when a friend gifted me a massive box full of random hockey cards I needed something concise and clear to help me out. This big ol' book by Beckett says how it is great for pros or, "Curious beginners," and I'm definitely the latter. While hockey cards can fluctuate in value just like comics, it is always good to have a reference guide and the, "Beckett Hockey Card Price Guide," seems to be the gold standard. I also have been enjoying the monthly, "Beckett Hockey," magazine which discusses trends with the newest hockey cards so between that for fresh stuff and this massive guide for older stuff, I'm set anytime I get some hockey cards that are newer or older.
The guide itself is quite straightforward and easy to navigate. It separates listings alphabetically by the card line and then the years within said line. So, the 2021-2022 Artifacts cards are earlier in the book than any 1990-1991 O-Pee-Chee cards if that makes sense. I also appreciate how many card lines have a little picture to show you what that brand of card looks like. The price guide does not have any fun articles or such unlike Overstreet, so I kind of miss that, but I suppose when you have over 800 pages dedicated to listings anything else would feel like filler. I did notice that the Four Sport line--which did include hockey along with basketball, football, and baseball--is not in this guidebook, which I understand as hockey only made up a fourth of it, but that absence is noted (even if most of those cards are basically, "Junk wax," as people say). Minor quibbles aside, this is a stellar book and very handy to have when you want to look up a hockey card. If you dabble in hockey cards at all, I'd highly recommend the, "Beckett Hockey Card Price Guide," with the 2024 edition having come out pretty recently. You can get it on Beckett's official website or from various retailers--I'm pleased I picked up a copy!
5 out of 5 Stars.
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